The Wedding Crashers
by PisceanPal23
Summary: When a newlywed couple is attacked hours after their wedding reception, Sara and Greg must find the culprit before the serial attacks become out of control.
1. Chapter 1

**CSI: Crime Scene Investigation**

**The Wedding Crashers**

**Yeah, so this is my first fan fic…ever…so please be gentle with remarks…lol. I'm going for a true crime scene scenario, like you'd see on the show, with lotto Sara and Greg moments, because I just love them together! It doesn't follow a specific timeline from the show, but it MAY include some references from there, so be prepared. So here it be, folks… Ooh! And also: I own nothing...no characters 'cept the victems and suspects, but the CSI crew? Not my own idea, sorry!And yea, you get the point...lol...onwards to the story!!!**

_The newlywed couple walked up to their new house, feeling giddy and in love, and it showed, for they were fondling each other like they were still teens. They walked, his hands around her shoulders, hers around his waist, up to the spotless white door that marked the entrance to their new house as well as their lives together as husband and wife. This was it…the moment they had all been waiting for. The young man looked into the eyes of his beloved and stopped walking. When she looked up into his eyes, she caught a sparkle of mischief. She cocked her eyebrow at him, and she shrieked when her man suddenly swept her off her feet, into his arms, the one place where she felt safe and loved. He spun her around, and the shared a kiss that showed just how into each other they were. They did not notice that anything was amiss. They did not notice that anybody was there, watching them with hawk eyes filled with nothingness. As she opened the door, and they walked slowly inside with locked lips still, they were attacked by a small group of people. They wrestled the woman from his arms, and held him firmly in place while they tied him up, leaving the couple screaming for help. They stuck needles in their arms and gagged them, and when they were subdued, they continued with their sick plan._

**CHAPTER 1: THE SCENE OF THE CRIME**

The next morning, police patrollers were parked outside the new house, and the familiar yellow tape was strung around the white picket fence. Sara pulled up next to the scene that was their next assignment. 'Their' next assignment, meaning Sara had been paired with a now sulking Greg, who had wanted to drive to the scene but had once again been denied the chance. Sara was about to get out when she noticed Greg still mocked a fuming sulk. She 'tsk'ed at him, shaking her head at the joking CSI. "Greg, come on, we're here. You have to stop being so immature, we have to process the scene".

"I don't care", Greg said, still mocking vast disappointment, arms crossed over his chest and slumped over in his seat like a three-year-old who just got told 'no'. His face suddenly showed the beginnings of his trademark mischievous grin. "Unless you do something for me"

Sara laughed inwardly. His light-hearted attitude and fooling brightened everyone's day at the lab, and he always made people smile, even at his own expense. However, when it got down to the real nitty-gritty, Greg was always completely devoted to his work, and always tried to do his best. Such was the way of Greg Sanders.

Sara groaned as she looked at Greg. "And what's that, Greggo? And please tell me it has no dirty implying? I don't think I'm ready for those jokes this early in the morning."

He laughed, and put up his hands in a peaceful gesture. "Perish the though Sara! I was just thinking that after the scene is finished, you have to pay for my next supply of Blue Hawaiian Coffee…it _was_ you who had the last of it at the lab, am I right?" Sara looked away guiltily, and he laughed again. "Thought so. So it is a deal?"

Sara sighed. "Anything to get you to stop whining and get yourself into that house! She nodded, and Greg got out and headed to the back to get his kit along with Sara. They then headed towards the house, where they saw Sophia Curtis taking statements from a man who was sat on the edge of an ambulance. Sara gestured to the house, silently telling Greg that she would be in there, and he nodded in agreement as he walked over to Sophia. Sophia flipped close her notebook, and looking up, saw him and made her way over.

"So what do we have this time?" Greg asked, looking over the scene in front of him. Besides the ambulance with the man on it, there was another, getting ready to leave. He looked up at the house, and saw Sara side step to avoid hitting a rolling stretcher with a woman on it.

"Well, we have two vics. They are Mr. Benjamin Weavers, 33 years old"…she gestured to the man who was now rocking himself back and forth, trying to calm himself, "the other is his wife, Amy Weavers, 29"…she gestured to the stretcher. "The wife is beat up pretty bad, but the husband seems fine, but slightly traumatized".

"Well, maybe they were having some couples issues, and the husband took out his anger on the wife. How long have they been married?"

"Less than 24 hours, actually. They were newlyweds in every sense of the word".

Greg looked surprised. "What? Seriously?" She nodded. Greg thought for a moment, and started walking over to the male vic. "Looks like we got us some wedding crashers here".

"Hey, I thought Grissom was the only one who could come up with witty sayings before every case?" Sara had come up behind the two of them, and she smiled when Greg jumped slightly. He turned a shade of red, but recovered quickly and turned to Sara.

"Sheesh Sara, next time you're gonna give me a heart attack! I thought you were at the house?"

Sara turned serious again. "I was, but they were wheeling out another vic, so I came to check out what the deal was. Someone needs to go and collect the rape kit from her…I think that may be a big part of what went on here last night".

Sophia nodded her head. "I'll go, I'm finished here anyways." She headed off to the direction of her vehicle, and Sara looked at Greg.

"So, since I'm down here again, will we interrogate the man together?"

"Yeah, sure". Greg and Sara started walking up to the man, who was still in the same position he had been when they arrived. Greg told her the information that they had about the guy, and they stopped next to him. "Mr. Weavers?" He looked up, but remained silent. "Hey. I'm Greg Sanders, I'm with the Las Vegas Crime Lab, and this is my partner, Sara Sidle". She nodded as he said her name. "I was just wondering if you could answer a few questions for us, so that we can find out what happened here last night."

"What time did you arrive home last night?" Sara had asked the first question. Greg trusted her to know what to ask.

The man stopped rocking, and started to speak, shakily at first. "Well…umm…it was just after 2:00 in the morning. We had just gotten back from our wedding reception, and we were feeling very excited to finally get into our house. We were just walking into the house when suddenly; we were attacked by a group of men. I think they drugged us, and then they tied and gagged me, and tossed me into a corner of our bedroom. Then…" His shoulders started trembling with the thought of what had happened next. Greg looked at Sara, who seemed indifferent.

"Please sir, tell us what happened next". She sounded so gentle, a side of the steaming hotheaded Sara Sidle that rarely showed itself. "We need to know so we can help catch the people who did this to you and your wife".

At the mention of his wife, he let out a sob. " I couldn't protect her…couldn't protect her…I should have been able to, I'm her husband, I am supposed to help her…" He shook, but after a minute, he took a calming breath. "If I tell you everything, can I still help her?" They nodded, and encouraged the man to go on. He took another stabilizing breath, and continued. "Well, the group of men took us up to our bedroom and tossed me in the corner. They tied her to the bed, and set up video cameras in different places. Then they started taking turns…tak-ing…" he let out a shaky sigh, "turns at raping her. They were so rough with her, they kicked her, and hit her, and…and…I couldn't do a damn thing!" He broke out into sobs again, and Greg's heart went out to him. Although he hadn't had a relationship meaningful enough that he had become protective of his girl, he knew what it was like to feel like you needed to watch over someone. He looked over at Sara, whose face was softening at the sight of this man. She turned to him, and he knew that this was enough for now.

Greg spoke up. "Okay, sir, thank you for your help. Now, get some rest, and visit your wife at the hospital. She'll be fine". He nodded, and Sara and Greg walked towards the house lost in their own thoughts for the time being.


	2. Chapter 2 & 3

**Okay, guys, I never realized how little a whole chapter was on one of these pages...lol. Kinda makes me realize how much effort goes into giving these stories a good body with enthralling substance! So, here comes chapters 2 and 3, but cross your fingers, the weekend cometh, and when I get a few chapters ahead, I'll post more. Grade 11 sucks!!! School needs to let me have more free time! **

**And, okay, you guys who reviewed so far? I love you guys!!! Haha, as a first time writer, I now experience the joy a review brings, especially if its this encouraging! I'm super happy you like it, so here for your reviewing pleasure, its the next segment! (P.S. Any suggestions for what you want to happen? Drop me a line in a review or something, I aim to please! Haha!)**

**CHAPTER 2: COLLECTING THE EVIDENCE**

The walked through the white door, and entered the house. Right away, they could see what may have happened. The porch was a chaotic mess, and the new coat of paint that had once been sported on the walls of the stairwell to their right had been chipped in some places. Greg walked further into the porch, and looked into the house. The kitchen to the left seemed undisturbed, as did the living room to the right. "Hey Sara", Greg called out to her, "The rest of the house seems completely untouched. What do you want, upstairs or downstairs?"

Sara thought for a second. "You seem to have made yourself comfortable down here. I'll take upstairs". Greg nodded and then walked back to the porch to process it first. He heard the stairs creak as Sara walked up to the second floor, and then got to work looking for trace materials and fingerprints, or anything unusual.

Sara had taken a sample of the paint chipping off the wall, and was checking for prints along itl. She followed the trail until she came to the top. In front of her was a bathroom, and when she turned to walk down the hallway, she noticed that blood was spattered on the walls. She swabbed this also, but assumed it was just the victim's. She walked along the hall. A bedroom lay to her immediate left, and at the end there was a closet and two rooms. The trail of little blood drops led her here, and she backtracked, marking the drops with yellow numbers and many photographs. She peeked into the other rooms, and after seeing that they were empty, unfinished rooms, she made her way back to the master bedroom, and opened the door.

"This room looks like it was hit by a cyclone", she muttered to herself as she set to work photographing the scene where the gang raping had obviously taken place. She checked for semen in the bed, as well as blood and hair, and also collected samples of the ropes that still remained. Then she went to the corner where the husband presumably was and started collecting samples of the ropes and cloth that she suspected were used to gag him and tie him up. After thoroughly examining the room, she left, and returned to her partner downstairs. She sighed. She had collected lots of evidence, but none seemed to be very useful. She walked down the stairs, and started searching for Greg. She turned a corner to the kitchen, and saw him looking about, at pictures on the wall, and at small little trinkets that lined the tops of cupboards. He was quietly singing a song to himself, and to Sara's surprise it wasn't one of the crazy rock songs he usually listened to. It was actually quite peaceful, and Sara felt herself almost stopping to listen to him, but instead she knocked on the doorframe. Greg whirled around, and grinned.

"Hey Sar! Are you finished with the upstairs already?" He didn't seem to have noticed that Sara had been standing there admiring his singing for about half a minute.

"Yeah, I have. There doesn't seem to be anything obvious there to collect, though. How'd you make out?"

He shrugged. "About the same. Although I did find some weird substance in a pile in the corner, there wasn't much else to work with. Whoever these guys were, they were pretty careful." He stopped for a second. "Hey, Sara?"

She glanced his way. "Yeah? Did you find something?" He shook his head, still looking thoughtfully at the pictures. "What are you looking at anyways, Greg? You seem pretty interested in it". Sara walked over and looked at the framed photos. They were simple ones of the victims, Benjamin and Amy Weaver. One was of them on a vast beach, holding hands while walking up the seemingly endless distances, the orange sphere of the sun cut in half by the ocean horizon. Another was them just sitting on their own couch, their faces close together. Sara chuckled. They had taken this picture themselves obviously.

"They seem so happy, don't they?" Greg said dreamily, with a twinge of longing. Sara looked at him surprised. "They were together, and that was all that mattered. And the one night that was supposed to be the pinnacle of their unity was ruined by something that should have never happened." He stopped. He chuckled quietly, as if shamed by his odd talk. "It's odd…this simple kind of relationship, where all you need is each other…this is the kind of relationship that I've always wanted with someone. Like, when I meet someone, I want them to want me, and only me, and be happy with that…know what I mean?"

Sara thought about what he had said…secretly, that was her dream for a relationship ever since Hank had hurt her so bad. She would never admit that though, being the stubborn corked bottle of thought and emotion that she was. Unless she felt overly emotional, she never admitted anything. She spoke up. "I get what you mean, Greg. It's a nice thought…but think about it…with the world we live in now, it just doesn't seem like that's possible anymore."

"Hey, I can dream, can't I?" He smirked, suddenly out of his phase of deep thought. "If you're done with processing, we need to stop at the grocery store on the way back to the lab".

Sara was about to question him when she saw him imitate someone drinking something out of a mug. Then she suddenly remembered she had to buy him the coffee she had promised him. She sighed. "Yeah, I'm done. Come on Greg, I want to get back to the lab." Then she looked over her shoulder tauntingly, and jingled the keys. "But I get to drive back too".

**CHAPTER 3: GETTING A SLOW START**

Greg and Sara sat in the break room while waiting for their results of the evidence collected at the scene of the crime. However, they were doubtful. There was blood, but that belonged to the female victim. There were fingerprints, but none were actually usable, as they were smudged partials. Sara sighed deeply. The only thing they had to go on was the husband's statement. This case was odd, but nothing could be connected. It seemed to be a random hit on a couple.

Greg picked up his sandwich and took a large bite, chewing in thought and swallowing before he started to speak. "Do you believe what the husband said, Sara?"

Sara hardly looked up. "Hmm…I don't think I do. Usually in this scenario, the husband is always the one who has attacked the wife for some reason. Why? What do you think?"

"I think I believe him, actually". Sara looked up. "He really seemed genuinely shaken up by the whole thing. And if his blood tests positive for a drug that renders you helpless, then half of his story checks out. He had marks on his body caused by something like rope, according to the medic that treated him. And besides", He added, "They were married less than 24 hours. A man wouldn't marry a woman he couldn't last a day married to before fighting her."

Sara scowled. This domestic violence scenario had her riled up. "You sure about that? Remember Greg, you can never underestimate the human mind. Never. Or does Nick's close call with death in that plexiglass hellhole not remind you?

"Yeah, but the person who did that to Nick was a little nuts..."

"Then what about your ordeal with Demetrius James?! Does that not ring any bells?" Her hand shot to her mouth as she watched his face darken. He looked away. "Oh no…Greg, I didn't mean it, I'm so sorry. You know how I get with these cases…I'm sorry." She became frustrated with her partner when he did not look up. "Greg, please listen to me." She took his shoulders, and forced him to look at her. His face was set like stone, and his eyes still hid traces of trauma from the experience. He remembered that night, and it was not fun.

He had been in so much pain from the experience being beaten over and over by a group of youths that beat people for fun...especially tourists. It was apparently called Fanny smacking, and he had gotten hurt trying to save another persons life. The pain didn't stop as after he recovered, he had to face an inquiry as to why Demetrius was killed. It had been obvious that it was in defence, but try telling that to a grieving mother and her other son. Then the civil lawsuit that they pressed against him was still another trial to come…someday. He had forgotten it gladly until now. He looked down at Sara who still tried to ask for his forgiveness. It was already given, but Greg was still thinking about his past and present trials. He would never bear any grudge against anyone (save for Ecklie), and especially not Sara. Sara…the only one of the team who had gone to him on that traumatic night. He had been treated by medics, and stabilized, and who should show up to see him but Sara. He had known it was she, even though his eyes were either closed in pain or swollen shut. He always knew when she was around. They were best friends, and had been since she had mentored him through to become CSI Level 1. He snapped back to the present, to a very guilty looking Sara.

"Greg, please forgive me for saying that. It was so uncalled for."

Greg gave her one of his trademark grins, and seeing it was genuine, she smiled a small smile and stopped begging. "Sara, its ooookay. Part of the job, I have to deal with what happens". He became sterner. If it had been anybody besides him she spoke to, she would have gotten in trouble. "That means you need to deal too. You could have been in trouble saying that to someone." She nodded sheepishly. "Oh, and Sara?" She looked back up at him. He grinned wildly. "You can take your hands off my shoulders now."

Sara blushed furiously when she realized that he was right. She quickly removed her hands from his shoulders, and sat back down at the work. He too sat down, with the grin still on his face. "Shut up Greg!"

"Wha, I didn't say anything!" He put up his hands jokingly.

"That silly grin of yours says it all, Greggo." Sara smiled, and gave him a playful push.

He smiled, and just as they had gotten back to talking of the case, they got the pages they were looking for. Their results were in. They headed out towards Hodges, and got their results. Of course, just what they were expecting. They were inconclusive. The only thing they found out was that the husbands' story about the gang rape was true…several sets of DNA were collected from the woman, but none could be traced. The woman was in bad shape…the men who had raped her had done so savagely, and had caused her extreme pain, bruises, and lacerations. They had no leads. They had to go and talk with the husband again. They asked Brass to call him in, and an hour later, Greg watched through the glass as Sara and Brass asked him questions.

Sara started slowly, with questions to make him more comfortable. "How is your wife doing, Mr. Weavers?"

"Well. She is doing well. She is in pain, but the doctors are helping her."

"Well, we have a few more questions about our investigation. What can you remember about the men specifically? Any faces, or general ages?"

He rubbed his hands along his hair, and started. "No…they were not too old though. They were probably early 20's, but it was too dark to tell what they looked like. Also, after they had her tied up and the cameras ready, the blindfolded me, and then started raping her. I know this because they made such a jest out of it…they actually thought it was fun."

Sara's face changed to one of anger, and Greg hoped that she would control it. The husband wasn't guilty yet…hopefully she would remember that. He didn't want to have this turn into another case where Sara nearly got fired for getting angry about a case and taking it out on her superiors.

Luckily, she kept her cool. "Did you have any enemies? Did anybody have any reason to do this?"

"I don't know, maybe. My wife is a pharmacist, and I work as an electrician. I don't see how you can form enemies with jobs like that. Besides that we don't do anything but spend time with each other and with friends."

"Okay. How about at your wedding? Explain your wedding to me. Anything suspicious happen there?"

He shrugged. "How would I know? I was the groom, I had to entertain too many people to notice anything much. It's a wedding, and there is simply just too much happening at a wedding to notice these things. Although, you can experience the wedding."

Sara and Brass looked at him. "How's that", Brass asked?

"Oh, I just mean that we had a little camera crew take pictures and a video of the wedding. For a small time deal, they're pretty good at what they do. I have the tapes if you want them."

Sara smiled at her fortune. "Sure, that would be greatly appreciated. Mr. Brass here will escort you to your house, and you will retrieve them and be brought back here, okay?" He nodded, and she left to rejoin Greg. "Now we're getting started".


	3. Chapter 4 & 5

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**Here ya go, folks, the next two chapters. I actually managed to make this one longer, so kudos to me:) Now, I want to tank everyone who has reviewed me thus far...It really makes me happy to see someone appretiates my writing, and it makes me want to write more. Now, this weekend is a little tight for me, and alot of stuff's coming up, so I may slow down, but be patient, I'll try and be as quick as I can. Like I said before, if there's anywhere you want to see this story go, review and I'll try and reply with an addition to the story. Input and tips are always appretiated, and if you notice any plot holes, let me know, for heaven's sake! Haha...I don't want to be writing a story that makes no sense! Anyways, enjoy!!!

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CHAPTER 4: WEDDING PLANNER

Greg sat in the A/V lab, watching the tapes and keeping an eye out for something suspicious, while Sara sat behind him, looking at the pictures taken. They were completely baffled. A few of the people they saw on the tapes and photo's looked suspicious, but nothing was for certain. After a while, he stopped, and running his hands wildly in his hair in frustration, and sighed deeply. "Sara, I'm not getting any good of these tapes! I see some people looking shady, but that may be from too much wine and not enough bladder to hold it all in! Urgh…we have nothing to go on, and I'm out of thoughts. What do you think?"

Sara looked up from where she was circling some people she thought they could check out. "I don't know. I think from here we need to start questioning people. Look", she gestured, and Greg came and stood over her. "See her?"

Greg looked at the woman who was sat at a table in the back of the reception hall. She seemed to be writing something on a piece of paper and handing it to someone. "Yeah, she seems pretty suspicious. Let me see if I can find her on the tape." He walked back and slipped into the chair. He flipped through the minutes, following the numbers on the bottom of the photo. He finally found the footage he was looking for. "Come here Sara, I found it." She walked over. Greg had the video stopped on the frame that showed almost the exact same picture as the still photo. "Okay Sara, lets play and see what we get". He started the film, and saw the man that the woman had slipped the paper to made his quick exit out the door, and to who knows where."

"Okay, so we have a lead, even though its weak, we have to follow it. There's nothing else to do". Sara looked at Greg. He was looking at the video. "Greg? Greg??"

"That wedding looked so nice." Greg had said it quietly. He was lost in thoughts again. Sara was completely taken off guard again, but she knew what Greg had thought about weddings from when they had worked on a case with Nick a few months back. "One day, I want a wedding like that. Glamorous, fit for the girl I call my bride. I want her to feel special. The one night when she should feel like royalty. Sara?"

"Yeah, Greg?"

"I don't understand why you don't like weddings? What are you going to have when you get married?"

Sara laughed loudly. "Greg, marriage isn't something I think too much about. I'm not even dating anyone now. And besides, I hate people fussing all over me like that. If I want a wedding, I want it kept to a very minimal amount of people."

Greg sighed. "Even for one night? Oh well". He stood up, and walked out of the lab. "Coming Sara? We need to get that woman into the lab and ask her some questions. Get Brass or Sophia to round her up". He walked away then, towards the break room, leaving her alone. Greg was acting weird, and she didn't know why. Not his usual weird either. It was almost Grissom-like and it kind of freaked her out. Greg and Grissom were two completely opposite people, so she would have to find out what was on Greg's mind.

The woman from the video, now sporting a very comfortable lilac pantsuit and white silken shirt, sat before Sara and Brass in the interrogation room. Her glasses, pointed at the ends, stood perfectly straight on her nose, and she was soaked in perfume.

"So let me get this straight", Brass repeated, as he leaned in towards her face. "Your name is Penny Callaghan, and you are a wedding planner?"

"Yes, that's right. I help the young couple plan the best day of their married lives, because once married, they won't have many more". She laughed, and Sara almost cringed at the nasal sound of her voice. Well, she was obviously single. She stopped laughing, and said, "Now, officer, what is this about? I have a 6:00 dinner appointment with a couple whose wedding is only in a week".

"Did you help plan a wedding for a couple with the last name of Weavers?" Sara joined the conversation.

"Why, yes, their wedding was just last night. I remember it well. They were sparing no expense, her parents are rich ya know, and they had the most beautiful hall rented out. Everything was the highest quality there. I only advised and told her of the best deals she could get. She is frugal, ya know. So, when it came to the help, she had very little money dished out, except for me. I only make sure I get top dollar, ya know." Sara was going to strangle Ms. Callaghan if she said, ya know, once more, but still tried to listen to the annoying thing talk. Where the hell was Greg when you needed him?

"Why do you ask, anyways?" She finally stopped!

"Well, Ms. Callaghan, the Weavers were attacked last night, and Mrs. Weavers was raped severely. We believe someone in the wedding reception who could have followed them are the ones who did it.

Well that certainly shut up Ms. Callaghan, thought Sara. Her jaw dropped, but quickly started again when she spoke again. "How could this have happened? I mean, ya know? That thing isn't supposed to happen on the night of their wedding! That's so sad!"

"Well, could you tell us what the message was that you handed this man"…Sara fished through her file and handed Penny the photo of her, the man, and the mystery letter, "you gave this letter to was?"

"Sure, hon. This is a man who works for me, Manny Dennison. He's what you may call my little protégé, the guy who learns how to plan the best weddings possible under my guiding wing". She laughed again. "He just runs little errands for me yet, and this time I had sent him to give this to one of my clients who had wanted me to check out the hall, and the best way to do that was to see it in wedding bliss. I even had the camera guys send me some good photos of the décor."

"Speaking of, can you tell us anything about the help?" Sara asked, a thought brewing in her head.

"Sure. The caterers were pretty peeved, because they were the ones being paid the least in this whole deal. The cameramen were being paid pretty handsomely for help, but they didn't seem very focused. They kept slacking and gathering in one of the empty lounges. They seemed very friendly though." She stopped to think of who else was there. "Oh, and the crew that handled the music were getting ripped off. They asked for a certain amount of money, but got only three quarters of it." She stopped again, but she was finished. "Can I go now please?"

"One more question, and then you may leave", Sara said. "Now, how did the Weavers get a hold to these caterers, the music crew and the cameramen?"

"Well, of course I introduced the Weavers to them, but that's my job! I also introduced them to a group more from each category. Now, may I leave?"

Sara sighed, and leaned back. "Sure, you can go". She stood up to go, but Brass added, "We'll stay in touch".

Sara walked out of the room. She had 3 more leads; all with motive, but with so many people at the wedding no one could be sure. Archie was looking over the tapes for them again, as he was more skilled with video footage than anyone at the lab. She suddenly thought of Greg, and she went angry. He had just walked away, and never told her where he was going. She stormed off to look for him, but before she had even gotten a chance, he came prancing up to her. "Sara! Guess what?"

She frowned. "You left me to do an interrogation and left your partner on this assignment alone?"

Greg ignored her entirely. "Nope! Actually, its good news about our case! Nick and Warrick are working on a case, and guess what? They are almost exactly the same!"

Sara looked at him hard. "Seriously? Then that means that if the DNA left at this scene matches the DNA of the men from our scene…"

"Then we have a serial killer on our hands"

**CHAPTER 5: FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE TRAIL**

It was what Sara and Greg had expected ever since they heard about Nick and Warrick's case. The DNA matched from both scenes, and they were now looking for a serial killer. Their next task was to go to the scene of the caterers, the music crew and the cameramen. Greg and Sara parted ways, Sara tagging along with Sophia to the cameramen and then back to the lab, Greg and Brass making their way to the music crew and the caterers.

It was nearing the end of a hectic double shift when Greg and Brass had arrived at the site where the music crew were working a party at a house. Greg was going to be happy when he finished with this shift…he needed rest, and he was sure Sara would as well. He simply followed Brass around the place, going from person to person until they finally came to the guy he had assumed lead the group.

"Hi, are you Joseph Yorkly?" Brass asked as he stopped at an odd looking man who held a clipboard, and who was ordering people about, to perform their jobs.

He looked up, and stepped out of the mayhem. "Yeah, it is. Who wants to know?"

"I'm detective Jim Brass, this is Greg Sanders from the Crime Lab, and we'd like to ask you a few questions…"

Meanwhile Sara and Sophia were stood outside the house of the cameramen. Apparently, they used a spare room of two of them men in the crew who were brothers for their dark room, and then used it as their main office. They were only small time businessmen. Soon a tall looking young man met Sara and Sophia's knocks on the door. "Can I help you two?"

Sophia cleared her throat. "Yes, I am detective Sophia Curtis, and this is Sara Sidle, we're here to ask you some questions about your gig at the Weavers Wedding?" The young man raised his eyebrow in a questioning sense. Sophia noticed. "You _do_ remember the gig, I assume?"

The man spoke up, gesturing into the house. As they walked he replied, "I do, but hey, a gig's a gig. All I remember is that the couple was really cheap. But of course, we're only a small-time, so you take all the chances you get. I think my older brother could help you more, he manages us and he remembers the gigs more".

"Where is your older brother?" Sara asked walked slowly behind he and Sophia.

"He's in our darkroom, so I'll go get him. Wait here." He then went down into a door that led into the basement. Sara looked at Sophia, and she nodded, signalling Sara that she could wander and explore. Sara nodded back, and started to walk around the lonely house. The walls were lined with photos that they probably had taken in their career. She wandered into a secluded room off the living room that looked like it was a private study. She looked at what was on the desk, and saw video cameras and used tapes sitting next to them. There was a computer there also, probably used to store their tapes and to view them.

Satisfied with what she saw, she turned and came face to face with a man that was a bit older than Joseph. "Can I help you, Ms…Sidle?"

Sara recovered quickly from her capture of snooping. "Uh, no, I was just glancing through all of the pictures on the wall…do you manage this business?"

He smiled very slightly, just to be polite. "Yes, that's me, Tristan Yorkly. I work with my brother and two other guys. We've been in business for a while. Now, what is it you want?" He wanted to get to the point. He seemed unnerved about her presence.

"Well, sir, we're looking into the attack of a couple and the rape of the woman of the couple. Do you remember one of your latest gigs, the Weavers wedding?"

He thought for a second. "Yeah, I remember. They were cheap with the help, even though the hall and decorations were expensive. But hey, cheap is something we've done before…we deal with it."

"What do you know about the other help that was hired that night?"

"Well, they were more peeved at the whole payment arrangement than we were. They were part of a more ritzy business than we were, so their payment probably seemed really cheap, but they didn't seem to realize until their checks were given out. The caterers were especially pissed…they even caused a bit of a ruckus when they realized".

"Why didn't they realize the pay was cheap? Didn't they ask?"

"No, they figured that since Penny was working for em, they couldn't be all bad, and when Penny asked them, they agreed…never even asked. Also, the Weavers are known for riches…they figured they'd spare no expense, including the help. There goes that."

Sara nodded, flipping the top page of her notebook when she was finished. "Thank you sir for your cooperation. We'll keep in touch". Sara made her way to Sophia, and they headed for the lab.

Meanwhile, Greg and Brass had just arrived at the caterers, after talking with the music crew and taking notes. So far, nothing was for certain, although they were pretty cheesed off that the pay was so cheap. It seemed to be the only constant thing in this case.

The catering building was fairly large, and when they entered the kitchens, Greg was hit with the delicious aroma of food. It made him realize all the more how hungry he was. His mouth watering, he started asking around for the manager. He was pointed out the door of the kitchens, and into a small door to the side. Greg followed, disappointed that he had to leave the food behind, but he had a job to do. He walked up to the door, and knocked. He waited at the door until he heard a gruff voice beckoning him inside. He walked in, casting a look around the musty well-lit office that ha the light odour of chocolate. He heard his stomach rumble, but he ignored it for now. "Mr. Valencia?"

The man looked up from the papers he was reading. "That's me. What do you want kid?"

"Sir, I'm Greg Sanders from the Las Vegas Crime Lab, I'm looking into an attack and a man and a rape on his wife, and I just want to ask you a few questions."

The man sat still. "What's that got to do with me?"

"Well, I believe that it was your catering service that served at their wedding reception nearly 2 days ago…"

The man exploded. "You mean those damn Weavers? Listen, those people were cheap bastards! They had all the money in the world, and wouldn't even pay us what was our right! I should have never worked that gig until I was sure of what was being offered!"

"Calm down Mr. Valencia. Yes, I am talking about the Weavers. But issues aside, we need to get to the bottom of what happened. Now, did you notice anything suspicious?"

Before he got a chance to answer, Greg's cell phone began to ring. Greg held up his finger to signal that he'd only be a minute, and he left the office and leaned against the door. "Sanders."

"_Hey Mr. Lab abandoner, I have the results of that stuff you collected in the corner of your scene". _Greg scowled at Hodges on the other line. Lab abandoner indeed.

"Well, what is it, Hodges?" Greg didn't want to deal right now. Even as placid as he was, Greg was tired, hungry, and in the middle of speaking with a possible suspect. No time for fun and games. And Hodges wasn't exactly one of his best friends by any means.

"_My someone's cranky this afternoon. So anyways, that stuff you collected? Guess what it is? It is a mixture of seafood sauce and crab…the finest grade stuff I may add!"_

Greg's eyes widened as an idea occurred in his head. That was a big step in their case. "Thanks Hodges, that was useful. Catch you later". He hung up and headed back into the office. The man was looking up expectantly at his return. "Okay, now that my phone call is over, could you continue with what I asked you before?"

The man finally got a chance to speak. "Well, like I said, we were all peeved about the ridiculous wages they offered us, 'we' being the music crew, the cameramen, and us. If anybody from that group are responsible, though, I would say it was the camera crew".

"Why do you say that, sir?"

"Well, they were pretty creepy. They were very lewd, and though they do very nice work, they seem to be very preoccupied with getting girls. Now, sure, they are still young men, but at a wedding reception? It is just unseemly".

"Okay. Now sir, I need a list of all the food that was served at the wedding reception. Is that possible?"

"Yes, sure…why do you need it?" The man looked at Greg oddly.

"Just part of protocol, sir. I need all the information about that wedding reception as possible".

"Okay, I'll fish them out for you. I'll meet you back in the kitchen's."

"Will do, sir. I'll have my partner here, Mr. Brass, just stay outside your door, okay?"

He shrugged, and Greg went and sent Brass to do just that. Greg walked along the kitchen, admiring the culinary works of art with a twinge of pain in his stomach. He was absolutely starved, and he had no idea when the manager would produce that piece of paper. He walked about, until his curiosity got the better of him. He sauntered over to a chef, and asked her what all this delicious food was being prepared for.

"Well sir, we have another wedding later on tonight, so we have to rush to get this done." She stopped, and she watched Greg for a second before she pointed out to something. "See that over there? That's the bride and groom cake…made especially for them. It is magnificent, and I can't wait to see the couple's faces when they see it and get to cut it together. Best part of a wedding gig." She laughed, and went about her business. Greg walked around a counter to get a better look, and started in awe at the wonderful cake in front of him. Hunger now put aside, he looked over the pure white cake that seemed dressed in a shawl of royal purple and gold ornaments. On the top, stood a little replica of a bride and groom, and Greg thought about what his wedding would one day be like. He wanted it to be perfect. He wanted to be perfect. He wanted everything to be perfect, not for him, but for the woman he would one day love. He was snapped back to reality who knows how many minutes later by Brass, who waved the files they needed in front of his eyes.

"Hey, Sanders, snap out of it, we have to get back to the lab, the girls are probably waiting for us there". He started walking out of the building with a still thinking Greg following after him.

Once in the car and starting their drive back to the lab, Brass felt like he had to address Greg about his drifting off into space. "Penny for your thoughts Greg?"

Greg looked over at him. "Oh, it's nothing, really…just thinking about our case…wedding, and relationships".

Brass chuckled. "What about them? Don't tell me you have a special someone and I don't know about her…I'm a detective, after all".

Greg chuckled lightly also. "No, not yet…I don't even have anybody lined up to ask out on a simple date". He sighed, and Brass could tell he was lying, even if it was only a bit. Brass thought about whom Greg could like, and an idea hit him.

"What about Sara? Have you asked her out yet?" The question caught Greg completely by surprise, and he nearly choked on his own breath. Brass glanced his way. "Guess not?"

"Brass, Sara is my best friend and mentor! I don't think I could ask her out, especially now that I'm in the field. Besides", he added under his breath, "…she's still after Grissom, and she'll never want or need me like that."

Brass didn't hear this. He just stopped talking after that, and did not mention anything else on the drive back to the lab, where Greg and Sara would start again on finding the correct path to finding their criminal wedding crasher.


	4. Chapter 6 & 7

**Wow...sorry guys, my chapters are grossly uneven in size...I've been combining chapters to make it up, and now it's really long...lol. Well, anyways, my story is disappointingly short, so I've got it all written, I'm posting it up at regular intervals to pace the readers and reviewers. **

**If anybody wants me to continue writing, review now or forever hold your peace (well, you have until I post the last chappie, but you know what I mean)...I found writing this to be very fulfilling, and I would like to write, IF others like what I write, so at the end of this story, let me know what you think...so here is chapter 6 & 7.**

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**CHAPTER 6: A BREAK AND A DEATH**

Brass left Greg at the lab, and went about his own business. Greg was glad to be back, but he would be even happier to get back to his own apartment where he could get a snack and just drop into sleep until his shift started again. First, however, he had to stop and drop off his results. He walked through the hall, passing Catherine and Grissom who were just leaving for a scene on the Las Vegas Strip. He waved back when they greeted him with hellos, and continued on his way. He figured Sara would be in the break room, waiting for his results, so that she too could go back to her own home. He rounded the corner to the break room, and there she was, sipping at the remains of a cup of coffee. She looked up, and stood. "There you are Greg. I was waiting for these records. Now, lets see if these records have the same food on it as the one from our last scene…maybe we can link the caterers to the scene of the crime." Greg gawked at her. "Sara, come on, shifts up…a long time ago! We need to get home and rest for the few hours that we have until next shift". Sara shook her head, like it wasn't a big deal. "Greg, come on, this could be a big breakthrough. If we can link them to the scene of the crime, we may very well have this crime solved. You go on without me." Sara and Greg had come together in his own car today, due to Sara's being in need of some minor repairs. She could almost hear Greg question the damage being, 'minor', before he let out an undignified, 'ow', at being elbowed sharply by Sara.

Greg sighed. "Sara, you can't solve a crime if you can't think straight, and you can't do that when you're tired and hungry on. This can wait until we come in again in a few hours. Then when we're somewhat refreshed, we can work on it, and know what we're doing. Now, do you want to go of your own free will, or do I have to drag you out of here like we're nuts?"

Sara pursed her lips, but since getting dragged out of the lab by Greg was a plausible threat when presented by Greg, she sighed, and put her file away. "Fine, I'm leaving. We work on it first thing when we get back, though, okay? Both of us."

Greg grinned, and opened the door for Sara. "Whatever you say, Queen Sara." She laughed as she brushed past him, and he walked after her, letting the door close on its own.

The drive back to Sara's apartment had been the usual talking of random topics and Greg's constant joking, with Sara's laughter mixed in to it all. It was the norm; the way that it was when they knew everything was okay between them. He dropped her off and wished her the usual CSI 'goodnight', at 4 in the afternoon, and she quickly made her way into her apartment. She was now glad that Greg had forced her home. She was feeling the effects of a double shift, and she soon scarfing down a large salad. Fortunately for her, it had been left from last day and was just begging to be eaten before it spoiled like a lot of the food in her refrigerator. When she was finished, she quickly piled her dishes in the already full sink, and made her way to her messy bathroom, where she would shower. It was the last stop before losing herself in her dreams, and for sure feeling the refreshing, soothing sensation of warm water on her body would help her sleep all the better.

After stepping out, and placing the towel-robe around her, she finally sighed sleepily and started to make her way across the small hall to her bedroom…her nice, comfy bed, soft blankets, sweet dreams. She was suddenly shocked out of her stupor of sleep by a knock on the door. She looked at her clock as she headed for the door…it had been only half an hour since she had made it home, and everyone knew she slept this time of day.

She answered the door to find a very sheepish, annoyed-looking Greg standing shyly at the door. "Hey Sar", he greeted her awkwardly.

"Greg?" She questioned oddly, looking at him. "What the heck are you doing here? You know this is when we sleep…heck, you were the one who dragged me home! What are you still doing up, much less doing here?"

Greg closed his eyes in a tired way. "My car went the way of the dinosaurs about 8 blocks away. I didn't have money on me to pay for a cab after I payed the tow-truck, and since your place was close, I thought I could borrow some money until I get at my wallet?" He opened his eyes then, looking at Sara for an answer.

Sara couldn't help but laugh at the poor man's misfortunes. Greg didn't mind, so much. In a day or two, he would be laughing along with the rest of the team about the whole ordeal, and it was nice to see Sara without too much trouble on her mind. She thought, and smirked an almost Greg-like smirk. "Greg, listen. There's no need for that. You can stay here for the night, in the spare room. You can take a shower too, you'll probably need it. Come on."

Greg hesitated, slightly, thinking over what his options were. If he could avoid any awkwardness, he'd definitely take it. Unfortunately for him, that was not in the cards, and he stepped forwards to Sara, who led him around the apartment, showing him where everything was. She did not even seem to notice that she was still in her small towel robe. Greg had, and tried not to look her way, as hard as he could. His will power needed to be strong, as it had been the day when they had shared a shower together. Granted, it had been a precautionary step to ensure they were not infected with biohazardous toxins, and granted again that Sara hadn't even given a thought to not looking to Greg's direction in the shower, but Greg had come a long way since he had started in Las Vegas Crime Lab, working alongside Sara and the rest of his team. He was growing up, and growing to respect Sara more and more as he worked more and more with her in the field. The thoughts of his crush on Sara in his lab days were long gone, replaced by a more serious reverence for her.

Although tonight, he was much too tired to even think of all that, and when Sara had finally showed him where everything was (he really hadn't being paying attention at all), she left him.

He lightly grabbed her arm before she turned away. "Thanks Sara. I appreciate this, I do." He smirked, but it still showed signs that he was sleepy. "I don't very much like the thought of jogging home, falling asleep in the middle of an intersection".

She laughed full-heartedly. "No prob." She winked. "At least now I know you'll actually sleep, and won't be out fooling around with some girl at a bar before work. You need to be in top shape when we go back at the case tonight". She left then, with a yawn and a stretch, and made her way to her room.

Greg, first off, had to jog back out to his car and grab his clothes. This did not take long, and after this task was done, he quite simply went to his 'room', to his, 'bed', and fell quickly to sleep, his mind coming up with a plan. He was going to act like a true gentleman for once in front of Sara, and as he perfected his scheme in his dreams, a smile formed on his peaceful features.

Sara awoke at 11:00 that night, and as she sat up and stretched, she felt rejuvenated. Almost 7 hours of sleep could do wonders for you. She lifted herself off the edge of her bed, and in a few minutes flat, she was dressed and ready to get to work again. She wandered out of her room, and walked out to the large room that served for her porch and living room. She saw the man's jacket on the couch, and she remembered that she had asked Greg to stay! She had completely forgotten. She had figured that he was still fast asleep in his room, and sure enough, when she had gone into his room, there he lay on the bed, fast asleep. She couldn't help but smile as she watched his face, seemingly without a care in the world. She watched his chest rise and fall, and it comforted her. She chuckled at how this was so, but she knew exactly why. She had seen her father die at the hands of her mother, and no matter how much she tried to console herself in the fact that her father was a horrible man, she never got over how she had seen the last rise and fall of his chest that marked the end of his life, and changed hers forever. Now, as she watched Greg breathing slowly, softly, she suddenly became afraid. The fact that she saw his life, his chest rise and fall with each breath he took may comfort her, but when she thought that she may see his chest suddenly stop…his life stop…

She stole a last glance before she exited the room. She slapped herself on the head at her total nonsense at how ridiculous she was being, but she could not steal a second glance into the dark room. However much she had wanted to look at Greg more, at his slim, but athletic figure, with his shirt buttoned with care and his jeans fitting loosely about his lower figure…

Sara stopped in the middle of her hall. Greg was completely ready for work? She suddenly realized what had happened about her. The bathroom still had traces of steam meaning Greg had had a shower already. Now the bathroom was shining clean, and everything was put away. The hall had been cleaned, and her mess of a living room had been tidied, with papers laid in neat piles, everything dusted. She made her way to the kitchen, which was to the right as soon as you entered the home, and she gasped in delight and relief. Everything had been wiped down, and all the dishes in the sink and on the counter had been cleaned. She smelled something sweet, and checked the fridge, where she was met with a delicious medley of fruits in salad form. There was also a very scrumptious sandwich packed and ready to be brought to work. She could not contain the wide smile that spread across her face as she realized that Greg must gave gotten up early to do all of this for her, and was why he was so sleepy now.

She decided to return the favour somewhat, as she couldn't make it up to him fully what he had done. She started boiling up some coffee and making him some simple breakfast foods as she let herself drown in the wonderful feelings she was having now, thinking of how someone had been so sweet…no, sweet wasn't powerful enough to describe the gesture Greg had just done.

She had been so lost in thought she didn't hear the quiet shuffling of feet in the hallway until the last second. She whirled around and saw a very dazed Greg standing behind her. "Hey Sara". His voice was thick with sleep, and it made him seem all the more innocent and appealing. Sara walked over and without a word hugged him tightly, but only for a few seconds. She backed away, and Greg looked at her, definitely awakened by the sudden act of affection. "What was that for? Not that I'm complaining" His sleepy characteristics gave way to wide grin.

Sara smiled. "You know why, Greg Sanders. I cannot believe you got up early and gave up some of your sleep time to clean up around my place. However, I think it was the most generous thing somebody's done for me in a long while, so I'll let it go. Here", she said as she gestured towards the hot toast and coffee, with an assortment of other foods, "I made this so you'd be able to eat and be ready to go to work. It's the least I could do for you."

Greg's face radiated with the satisfaction of making her feel so good. He smiled, and sat down. "Thanks, Sara. Come on, you have a fruit salad waiting for you to. Let's eat together."

Sara obliged and sat down, and they shared a nice meal together. Laughing, talking, and joking, they had a great time together…off the clock. It was a moment that neither of them would care to forget. But all things must come to an end, as this moment did as they finished up their food.

Sara's cell phone rang, as did Greg's. Greg walked out of the room to give Sara privacy, and went into the living room. He flipped his cell open, an answered with the usual, "Sanders", greeting. He listened to Brass on the other line, and his thoughts immediately left the wonderful feelings he was having and shot back to work. The phone call ended, and Sara came out to join him, as grim-looking as he felt, and probably looked.

"Another attack on a newlywed couple", Sara said. He could feel the annoyance in her voice, as he knew that she was blaming herself somewhat right now for not catching the psychos yet. "Only a few blocks from where the other couple was."

"Well, that makes sense", Greg added, "That part of town is new, constantly being moved into by new couples with lots of cash, who have built new houses there."

"There's more." Sara grabbed her coat, and opened the door. "They've escalated." Greg's mouth came open, as if to say something, but Sara finished his comment. "They've killed."

**CHAPTER 7: TRUE AND FALSE**

Luckily for the both of them, Sara had received a call during their nightly breakfast to state that her car had been brought to her apartment parking number, so they at least had a ride. They rushed out to the scene in silence, and got out into the shadows of the night to where they saw that Jim Brass was waiting for them. Kits in hand they walked up to him as he ordered some of his officers to secure the area. He turned and walked with them towards large, pale yellow house. It had a large veranda, a balcony from a room they assumed to be the master bedroom, and hanging plants hung everywhere around it.

"Hey guys", Jim greeted as they neared the white-painted veranda, hidden by scores of trees and small hedges and shrubs. "Here's what we've got this time. Newlywed couple once again, our vics are Timothy Fuster and his wife, Angela Fuster. The same thing, they were just getting home from their wedding reception, when everyone had gone home, and got attacked when just entering. They were drugged, and the man was tied and gagged while he had to watch his wife get gang raped and videotaped in the process. This time…"

"Things went a little to far"…Greg finished, trailing off as he rounded the last corner of greenery and saw the bloody remains of what was once Angela Fuster lying on the ground in front of him. Her skull was thrashed in, and her body a mess of bruises and gashes. Her whole torso seemed to be swollen. David Phillips, the assistant coroner, was assessing her body now, along with Nick, who had also been called to the scene to help. "Hey guys", Greg greeted as they stopped next to them.

"Sara, Jim, Greg", was how David greeted them as he scanned the body over looking for anything to link someone to the horrific murder. After a few more last-minute touches, he looked at Nick. "Okay, Nick, are you finished looking over the body, and documenting? I want to get the body back to the lab, although", he said gesturing towards the skull, "I wager I know what killed her."

Nick nodded in agreement, and sent David on his way. He stood up, and walked a few steps over to where Greg and Sara were waiting for the rundown of what happened. "Hey guys", he addressed them as he neared and stopped. "We still have the outside and inside to process, but first, let's get into details of what I've found out so far. I interviewed the husband, and we've gotten the same deal. They were just coming home from the wedding reception, and when entering the home late at night, they were ambushed by a group of men. Then they were drugged, and carried to the master bedroom, where the man was forced to watch while the men raped and beat his wife while the videotaped it."

"Only this time, they got a little too rowdy, I'm guessing", added Sara as she wandered around to the edge of the house looking about, "and when they were finished with savagely beating and raping her, it wasn't enough, and they took her out to the balcony and let her drop 10 feet to her death."

"Only this time, we have something going for us", Nick added. "The body was noticed only half an hour after the deed was done when someone from the neighbourhood was driving home from a business trip. We can trace the drugs inside the DB and hopefully get a connection with the drug and the serials. Also, something went wrong, according to the husband. Near the end, one of the men gave a loud squeal, and he heard something crash on the floor. Maybe something was left behind from that."

Sara nodded in agreement, and she looked back at the boys. "Okay, so who's going to do what?"

Nick piped up. "I'll take the outside, and start processing." He ran to get his kit from near the house.

"Greg? What are you going to take this time, upstairs or down?" Sara asked, but received no reply. "Greg?" She walked over to him, and saw that he was in a daze again. She clapped her hands near his ear sharply, and he jumped with surprise. He had a look of anger on his face, but when he realized that he was not paying attention to her, he quickly mumbled an apology. "Greg, what's up? You're always losing yourself in thought on this case…what are you constantly thinking about?" Sara's voice was not reproachful like Greg had expected it to be. It sounded almost like worry, with a tinge of curiosity. Not knowing what he was thinking was getting to Sara, and it almost pleased him to think that she cared about it at all.

"Sorry Sara. It's nothing, don't worry about it…I'll take the upstairs this time". Greg picked up his kit laying next to him, and camera swaying slightly about his neck, he made his way into the house and into the stairwell, carefully looking about him and leaving Sara dumbfounded.

Picking up her kit and making her way into the house also, she could have kicked herself for not remembering to ask him what was on his mind when he was at her house. Now she would have to find some way to get him to tell her himself. If that failed, she thought, then she would corner him when they were alone and intimidate him until he told her. Either way, not knowing what had Greg's mind so preoccupied wasn't an option anymore. She had to know. Sighing, she set herself down in the porch and started processing.

She had lifted dozens of fingerprints and fibres when something else caught her eye. She picked it up tenderly with a pair of tweezers. It looked like a small ragged cube of white, and with great care, she bagged it. She continued about the house after the porch was done, and collected more samples of blood, hair and prints until she reached the stairwell. Here was where Greg had taken over. She could hear him shuffling about, and she could hear the whiz of his camera not unlike her own. She wandered through the rest of her house, but she quickly saw that no other part of the house was touched by the brawl of last night. She was just looking at some of the pictures that lined the wall of the husband and now deceased wife when she heard Greg call out to her. She left the pictures and walked upstairs to the master bedroom where Greg's voice had originated. She entered the train wreck of a room, with blood spattered everywhere, and everything out of place, and walked to Greg who was on the balcony.

"Hey Greg, what's up?" Sara asked as she came to a stop next to him. The view from up there was stunning as the darkness on the Nevada horizon was starting to lift, revealing shades of darker and lighter purples. She looked up at Greg, who was staring down at the ground, where the woman once laid and a pool of blood now did. His face was hazy in the pre-sunrise darkness, but she could see that he was looking hard at something. "What are you looking at?"

Greg raised his hand, pointing to something behind Sara. "I think I see a big helping clue in our investigation'. Sara turned, and smiled, happily and determinedly when she saw that he was right. There was a video camera set up, looking directly at the entrance. If that tape had what they thought it had, then they were in definite business, and one step closer to catching their man...or men.

"Good eye Greg", she commented, as she saw Nick come from around the house. "Nick!" She called out, and he turned his head in their direction. "Look Nick! A security camera! See if you can pull the tape and get it to Archie!" He gave a thumb up in acknowledgement and headed towards where she had pointed. Sara turned away towards the room, and looked about. "Greg, how much do you have processed?"

Greg turned also. "I have most of it done. I only have the bed left to process, but I still need to look about the rest of the upstairs. Are you finished?"

"Yeah, I am. Listen, how about I process the rest of upstairs, and meet you in front with Nick? I'm pretty sure that there's not going to be anything though. The rest of the upstairs at our last crime scene and at Nick and Warrick's scene was spotless and untouched also."

"Yeah that's great. Meet you in a while then." He nodded and switched his attention to the bed sheets, while Sara had gone and searched out the other rooms. Like the other house, there were two bedrooms on that floor. Sara entered the first one only to see that it was just a storage room. Boxes littered the floor, and plastic bags and covers were everywhere. Sara looked about carefully, but she did not find anything. The majority of the boxes were empty and discarded, and the ones that were full only had things such as books and other items that had not found their place in the new house. She left, and soon entered the second room, and on an instant she felt a pure feeling of dread in her stomach.

The room was painted a pale yellow, lighter than the outside of the house, and a small cradle was placed in the corner of the room. There was a small white plastic table across from it, with diapers, change cloths and baby's clothes laid daintily on it. Toys that were still in boxes were piled up in the corner near the closet, and a wallpaper of puppies and kittens lined the room. Sara remembered the broken body of Angela, whose body was swollen. She had directed the cause to internal bleeding, and the blood building up in the body cavity. Now she knew the real reason. She was pregnant.

She heard a heavy, angry sigh behind her. She turned her head to see Greg, kit in hand, stare into the room with a glazed look in his eyes. She was about to ask if he was okay, when he spoke. "They wanted a family. They were just starting to be a family, not just husband and wife, but a family." He was about to speak again when Sara interrupted him.

"Greg, don't worry, we'll catch these sick people, make them pay for what they've done, what pain they've caused, what lives they've ruined. Getting worked up will not help us do that though. You need to calm down and look at the evidence… 'Leave your emotions'…"

" 'At home'", he finished, "I know, I know." He sighed again, and turned grabbing Sara's arm. "It's just that I kind of know how the husband must feel. A real man knows his responsibility is to protect his family, and when you can't protect the ones you love, you feel so helpless. And now, his wife and unborn baby are dead. He can't make it up to them. It's not right." He stopped, and Sara just stared into his hazel eyes, hidden behind his dirty-blonde curls. He shook his head lightly. "Come on, let's get back to the lab, and see if we can't find out who's been doing this."

"Oh Greg", Sara said, trying to console him slightly, knowing he was going through a lot of things that she really wanted to find out, to help him through. "This is not your fault, but it could be if you don't snap out of it and try to stop this from happening again. There must be some good news. Did you find anything on the sheets?"

Greg's face lightened. "Yeah, I did. I got a weird black substance from the upper sheets and pillows. It's really sticky, but I cannot tell what it is. Also, I found a little chip of hat appears to be metal on the floor, and this." He held up a little plastic baggie containing a fingernail. "The crooks weren't so careful this time around. I also got a call from Warrick from the lab while you were here in this room. Since he and Nick have been added to our case, he's been looking at all our stuff in the lab. We have a match from the seafood I collected from our first scene and the stuff the caterer's served at the wedding reception. Also, Nick collected food particles at his scene, and they also match to the food list of the first caterer's who also served at that wedding."

Sara arched her eyebrow at him like she always did when she was waiting for something else. He said nothing after however, and she started. "That doesn't sound right. These people are smarter that that…this seems like it's a set-up Greg. Is that all we've got to go on is that? That evidence is circumstantial at best, you cannot tell if it is true or false. We need something more concrete."

"Ooh, but there's more, dear Sara", he said with a grin, and added, "Warrick also found some big connecting point with all of our cases. The victims? Loaded with the green stuff. The wedding planner? Penny Callaghan. The people she hired? All three were the same, the same music crew, the same camera crew, and the same caterers. And what ties it all together was that all the help was underpaid."

"Then that means that we have our suspects. All we need is evidence that ties them to the scenes, and the murders."

"Exactly. Then we can make the twisted crooks pay for everyone they've hurt." Greg, in his newfound excitement that they were getting closer to finding the corks, almost dragged Sara down the stairs and through the door before she could even grab the evidence she had collected, and her kit. "Come on, let's grab Nick and head back to the lab."

"Fine, fine! Just stop pulling on my arm before you dislocate it." Greg, finally realizing that he had literally dragged Sara out of the house, let go, grinning wildly in Greg-fashion as he did so.

"Oops, sorry Sara. But you know how excited I get. I should be lucky I wasn't with Grissom today. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be as understanding as you are about being indignantly dragged out of a crime scene."

Sara laughed out loud, thinking of how Grissom would look being dragged out by the arm by his youngest underling. She teasingly shoved Greg out of the door as she agreed. "Alright", she called out as Nick came from around the corner with the security footage with him. She held her keys in her fingers. "Come on guys, let's get back to the lab and get this stuff processed.

"I dibs driving, Sara!" Greg called as he snatched the keys from Sara's outstretched hand, and they all made their way to Sara's vehicle as the sun rose bright and blazing, revealing another day in the city if sin.

They were making their way back to the lab in morning traffic, and the going was slow. The three of them were stuck in a particularly slow spot, and they were growing restless, especially Greg.

"Guyyyyyyys!" Greg called out in his best annoying 'little kid' voice. Sara and Nick rolled their eyes.

"What is it Greg?" Sara replied from the drivers seat. She had succeeded in retrieving the keys from a very protesting Greg, but now she wished she were the one in the passenger seat, not having to try and beat other people into the free lanes of traffic. Greg sat next to her, as he would not settle for anything less than shotgun, and Nick stayed quite peacefully in the back.

"Let's play a game while we suffer through this log jam, shall we? Please?"

Sara looked back at Nick in quiet pleading, but Nick wasn't with her today. "That sounds okay, Greg, actually." Sara gave him a look that meant, 'what have you done!?', but looked back and silently gave in to Greg's game. "What will we play?"

Greg though for a minute and, with an innocent shrug, suggested, "How about true or false?"

Sara smiled inwardly as she mulled over his suggestion. This would be the perfect way to weasel out of him what he had been thinking about.

"Sure, Greg, lets play that", Sara said, and both Greg and Nick stared at her.

"Sara, play a game? That I came up with? It must be my Sanders charm!" Greg's voice dripped sarcasm, and was promptly punished by a quick elbow to the ribs.

"It's new, I know, but hey, I don't want to be excluded. Who wants to go first?" Sara said, being slightly uncomfortable all of a sudden as she realized she may have to answer something she didn't want to.

Nick answered. "Why not? I'll go". He smirked as he looked at Greg, thinking of a good question for his little buddy. "Okay, Greg, true or false: you were 22 before you lost your virginity?"

Greg glared at Nick, but since he had already told Sara before (he couldn't remember why, or even how the topic had come about), and Nick had obviously known, he answered swiftly. "True. Okay, my turn, Nicky. Here's my question of revenge. True or false: you used to go wild at fraternity parties."

Nick cocked his head to the side and laughed. "True."

Both Greg and Sara had a laugh at that one. "Our little Nicholas Stokes, in a wild frat party? Perish the thought!" Sara said like an old woman, and Greg laughed even harder.

"Alright then, miss Sidle", Nick said, thinking of what to ask Sara. "True or false, Sara: You like singing Blondie while working."

Sara blushed, and looked at Greg, who was looking surprised at Nick, and then turned to her, looking her impishly in the eye. She never wanted to admit it, but Nick had caught her one time in the lab when she was working on a case of a raped woman who was shot twice. "True", she said.

No one laughed. Nick thought she had a really talented voice, and Greg looked like the cat that swallowed the canary. "Really, Sara? You sing? And Blondie, good choice. I would like to hear that one day…" That comment sounded un-Greg-like, until he added, "and then record it and play it over the lab." He cringed lightly and jokingly when his ribs got another jab from Sara.

"Alright then, Mr. Sanders", Sara said in her most joking tone, "My turn. True or false:" She stopped for a second, trying to figure out how to go about asking this question in true or false style. Then she realized she had nothing to go on, so she had to go for something else…maybe, she thought with a spark of boldness, 'If I can't find out about what he is thinking, I can find out more about him in the past'. She started again. "True or false: You didn't like sports, organized or single, when in high school."

Greg never wasted a second. "False", he said. Sara looked amusedly at him. He had once told her that he never played sports in high school, that he was a chess player…if he liked them, why didn't he play? "My turn again, Sara. True or false: You weren't always so into vegetarianism."

Sara grimaced as she thought of that rotting pig in Grissom's experiment. She remembered how she used to like beef jerky, but now the thought of it was absolutely disgusting. "Truuuue", she said, sticking out her tongue in disgust.

As the two of them laughed, Nick watched with slight interest. It seemed odd, how the chemistry between them was so perfect, and how Sara was being so open with Greg. The two of them had grown extremely close since their split, after Ecklie had put Warrick, Catherine and Nick on the swing shift and Grissom, Sara, Greg and Sofia on another, but this was another Sara. He smiled. It was welcome to see that she was finally letting herself enjoy something in her life. He decided that he had to ask Sara about that later, in a cautious way, so she would not go back into her shell.

He heard Sara ask Greg another question, this one being about if Greg liked to sing, and if he anybody had told him he was good, to which Greg blushed lightly and mockingly said 'No fair! That's a double question', but to which he answered with a double, 'True", to which Sara looked very pleased. "Guys, stop excluding me! I'm playing too, you know."


	5. Chapter 8

**Okay, people, only one more thing to post up after this one...chapters 9 and 10...combined. Haha, this is just a learning experience, honestly! I'm writing a new story as we speak, that takes place after this one...maybe...I just might make up a new story thats completely random.**

**Review people!!! Haha, reviewing makes me happy!!! Pleeease, no flaming, but I don't mind brutal honesty, I've been living with that for years...haha. I want to make my story the best and as enjoyable as it could possibly be, so tips are always appreciated! And without further adieu, here you go folks:) **

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**CHAPTER 8: COMING CLEAN**

Sara and Nick were back at the lab, waiting for Greg and Warrick to come back from processing the evidence. Upon arrival, Greg had offered to go and bring their new stuff and bring it about to the separate labs, and to meet up with Warrick, who had taken it upon himself to, after getting all the previous evidence out of the way so that there was room for the new, look at the footage of the wedding for more clues, and at the new footage he had been informed was on the way. From there, Greg would help Warrick look over the new tape and also help with the lab, and processing the prints, trace, and whatever else needed done.

Sara had been quick to object, but Nick was quicker to accept Greg's offer, and he ushered Sara to the break room, where she now paced the room restlessly while Nick sat at the table, plotting the best way to ask her about Greg, but first he had to get her out of her crazy frenzy. "Sara, come here and sit down, you're making me dizzy." His Texan accent made his voice; even if he meant to be angry, seem warm and inviting. Nick was the go-to guy if you needed a friendly shoulder to cry on.

"We could have gone and helped them, Nick, and now I am wondering why we didn't. Why did you want me to come here with you?"

Nick stared down at his feet, and shuffled around uncomfortably. "Sara, promise to hear me out, before we start, okay? I'd rather not have you running away and leave me feeling like crap. I just want to have a talk, friend to friend."

Sara looked at him funnily, but laughed as she came over and sat herself down. "I should be flattered you didn't say man to man, I suppose. What is so important that you need to keep me from work to ask me?"

"Well, I don't know if it's important, per say", Nick started awkwardly, and he wished he actually had something planned, or even as extreme as written down. Anything to make it easier to come up with. "I wanted to ask you about you and your feelings."

"Oh god, its my school days with the guidance councillor all over again", Sara said, but she kept her serious look on, and that goaded Nick on to his point ever the faster.

"Sara, how do you feel about Greg?"

Sara gawked at him. "What kind of a question is that? Okay, what business is it that I should even tell you?"

"Because, Sara, we're very good friends in my opinion and I deserve to know when you think about asking someone out. Secrets are never good, especially in this business. You of all people should know that." Nick kept the reproach out of his tone, knowing Sara would immediately leave if she felt the hint of a reprimand. "Besides, Greg is my best friend also. I want to know if he's going to get his feelings hurt."

"So what if I even like the guy alot? So what if I thought of asking him out?" Sara's tone was not loud or punishing…simply, it was a normal room tone. "It doesn't matter anyways, I can never get any good out of him. He is always lost in thought since a few days ago." Sara's eyes widened when she realized she had given herself away.

Nick stayed quiet for a minute, soaking up what he had just heard. "So, you do want to go out with him. That's awesome." Sara gave him a look of pure, 'what the hell?' when he explained himself. "Sara, everyone at the lab knows that Greg used to have the biggest crush on you when he worked in the lab. Now, when you mentor him in the field, he completely idolizes you. You couldn't ask for better loyalty and caring than that. Greg has wanted to ask you out forever, but won't, because he doesn't want to wreck your friendship." Sara continued to gawk, slowly closing her dropped-jaw and still sponging up the information that Nick had just told her. Inside, she was ecstatic. Still, her silence unnerved Nick, and he spoke again. "Anyways, what did you mean by 'lost in though since a few days ago'?"

Sara shook herself out of her trance. "Oh, I don't even know. Ever since we started this case, I've caught Greg looking at the wedding pictures, and thinking, rambling of what his perfect relationship and perfect wedding would be like."

Nick smiled. "He sounds like Grissom with the random thoughts.

"I know, and it's not like him. I planned to ask him out so that I could get to the bottom of it."

Nick looked unpleasantly at her. "Sara, is that the only reason you had wanted to ask Greg out? This would be what I meant by hurting his feelings."

"No, that's not the only reason", Sara interjected, and her thoughts ran over all that had happened over the last year. "There have been so many times when I ignored every guy in my life, because all I wanted to do was be with Grissom", Sara started. She decided then and there that she would tell Nick, one of her best friends ever since being at the lab, about what she was feeling. 'Hey', she thought to herself, 'if I want to be with Greg, I may as well start trusting someone.' "Then, I realized that it just wasn't going to happen. I left it alone. Then, Hank came along."

"Wow, Sara, great record you have going there", Nick said in a very cynical, but gentle understanding voice. "You have my luck finding the right partners."

"Yeah, well, anyways, you know what Hank did, like everyone else knows. I pretty much gave up on ever having a serious relationship. Then Greg started working in the field." She smiled at the thought of poor Greg trying to impress the very intimidating Grissom. Greg may look up to Grissom, but he was still scared to death of him.

Nick looked intently at Sara, acknowledging what she was saying. Sara continued. "Since Grissom was supervisor, and our team had been split up, Greg and I started working together on a lot of cases. We worked well together, and Greg seemed so into what he was doing. His jokes and easy attitude made working with him all the better, lightened my days." Sara stopped short, realizing she was getting too soppy. She evaluated her thoughts, and found better words. "Then we were working separate cases, remember? That night, when Catherine and Warrick had a case with a car show and a showgirl, Grissom had a hit and run, you had a case with a dead boy in a shopping cart, and Greg and I had a dead bodybuilder?"

Nick closed his eyes in reflection, and when that night came back to him, he nodded. "Busy night for everyone. What about it?"

Sara blushed at the memory, and her face got a fiercer red when she told the story of the decontamination shower to her friend. She remembered to skip all the details that Nick definitely would **_not_** want to know about. She had mentioned, however, how much of a gentleman Greg had been, and had not looked. Nick had said something about him not having the will power had it been him and they shared a laugh. The Sara continued to tell him about the night Greg had been attacked, and how she had gone there just for him, and he had still acted like nothing was wrong, ready to tell her about the crime scene, how much she respected him for it. And then she told him about how he had stayed over to her house ("Not like that Nick! God!"' She had exclaimed when she had seen him raise his eyebrows suggestively), about how he had given up some of his sleep just to clean the house and prepare some food for her. She stopped, and waited for Nick to speak up.

"Greg sounds like a great guy for you Sara." He chuckled to himself. "Definitely the joking ying to your too-serious yang. Then, if you feel like that towards him, why not ask him out?"

Sara looked down, and sighed. "I don't want to be rejected again. Especially not by him. And, what if he doesn't want to be like that with me? What if I wreck this friendship I have with him? I can't afford to do that, it means too much."

Nick started thinking again. "Then don't 'ask him out like that', just yet." Sara looked at him. "I have an idea. You know you said you wanted to ask him out, so you could ask why he has been acting weird? All dazed and dreamy?" Sara nodded. "Well, then, ask him out in that pretence, and if you both enjoyed it, ask him out again, although I bet that Greg feels the same way."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because, Sara, we DO watch the ball games together you know. We're friends too, and we do confide in each other, just like you are to me now. I can tell when we're talking how much he adores you."

Sara smiled in spite of herself, and her cheeks reddened again. She nodded to herself. "Okay Nick, you know what? I'm going to do it. I'm going to ask Greg out. But…" She added before Nick had time to congratulate, "only if we solve this case."

"Bah, come on Sara, you're going to leave this to a chance that we'll get a lead? This case is going to be a hard one, even if we do get a lead. We have nothing concrete to use against whoever it is yet."

Just as he had finished this sentence, his cell phone rang. He picked it up, and after a few words and a smile, he said, "Come on Sara, throw out what I just said, we have a new ball game."

He raced out the break room door, with Sara on his heels.

"What have we got guys?" Sara asked as she, Nick, and Warrick were gathered around a table in one of the labs, evidence laid out methodically.

"Well", Warrick began, "From this evidence, we have a few things we need to consider. That cube you collected, Sara. It was part of a wedding cake, and Greg had said that there was a wedding cake being made when he was at the caterers the previous day. He's gone with Sofia now to check it out, see if we have another connection. The black sticky substance Greg collected off the bed sheets and pillows was a type of face paint, probably used to hide the attackers, and their identity. And the metal Greg found was part of a camera, but from the metal's components, we have a specific brand, Kodak.

"Yeah, but half the world has Kodak cameras, Warrick. We need some more to go on." Nick said.

"I know, but it's a start. Nothing else was traceable, including the nail that Greg found. We have some interesting footage on your security camera though." He led the group out of the lab and into the A/V lab. Warrick brought them over to where he had a video stopped, and said, "Watch this." He hit play, and Nick and Sara watched the couple prancing up the steps into their home, and as they entered, a group of four men with masks on ran from the massive groups of foliage, and attacked them, two guys to a victim, and they dragged them into the house, where they did who knows what to them. No alarm was sounded, for the couple had come in properly.

"Okay, so now we know we're looking for four guys", Sara said, "But that could be anyone!" She sat down in a nearby chair exasperatedly. "We have to narrow this down! We need them to make a mistake. We don't know what to look for."

"Hold on now", Warrick said, and he swivelled around in the computer chair and pushed himself over to another computer. "I did pick this up also, on the wedding videos from our first crime scene. Watch the bride in these photos." He pressed play once more, and they watched Amy Weavers sitting at the table in front of the massive luxurious hall. It seemed like all was normal, when suddenly, after about 1 minute of tape had gone by, the face of the bride changed to one of disgust, and she poked her maid of honour on her left side. Both their heads turned in the vicinity of the camera, and both their faces went appalled. "I can't tell what they're looking at, but I'll call Brass, see if I can get the whole bunch of tapes of the event from the camera crew."

"Meanwhile, I think Sara and I better round up some more people to investigate, say, oh, one Ms. Penny Callaghan? She was also involved with the three weddings also. Lets go and ask her some questions, eh Sara?"

"Agreed. Come on, lets get these guys", Sara said, and she and Nick departed the room, leaving Warrick to pour over the tapes once more."


	6. Chapter 9 & 10

**Okay guys, are ya ready? Lol...this will be the last chapter I put up, so when you guys read this, you HAVE to review!!! Tell me if you guys wouldn't mind another story, because I have another one in the making...and, if you do want another one, and have some tips for me, such as 'too much corn', or 'not enough corn', then tell me! I'm open to constructive criticism. It makes you better:d First though, I want to thank the people who've reviewed me so far...you guys are awesome, always full of support, and you have no idea how much I appreciate it:D:D**

**And now, here you guys go...enjoy the very Sandle ending:) And tonight a new episode, 'Loco Motives' somes on...Greg better be in it!!! I mean, whats gonna happen??? Muahaha...cannot wait to find out!!!**

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**CHAPTER 9: NARROWING SUSPECTS, HARROWING TREKS**

Sara waited outside as Nick was once again speaking to Penny Callaghan about the weddings. She hadn't wanted to listen to her annoying voice any longer from the last time, so Nick volunteered to do so. She stared into the glass at the lady, wearing a Burnt Orange pantsuit today, at Nick, and at Brass who was there for his expertise at interrogating suspects. She hadn't noticed Greg had walked right up to her, and when he had tapped her lightly on the shoulder, she jumped and nearly gave Greg a mighty clop.

"Woah Sara!" Greg said, his hands and arms raised in defence. "Take it easy! I'm sorry if I startled you."

Sara let out a huge breath, and she shook, either with rage or surprise, she did not know. "Greg Sanders, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" She breathed out again, slowly, trying to calm herself, when she remembered where Greg had been. "Greg, what did you find at the caterers? Anything that links him to the cake?"

Greg nodded. "Yeah, and the seafood is a match too. It puts four of the men on the catering crew at the scene, but…somehow it doesn't seem right." Sara looked at him, but her face read that she agreed. Greg explained it just to clarify it for her and him. "Somehow, magically, foods from the wedding are placed just perfectly at the crime scene? The rest of the crime scene is clean, except for that one crumb of food that mysteriously gets placed in the porch of every scene. It occurs to me that someone is framing the caterers."

Sara sighed. "Yes, it seems way too perfectly placed for my tastes, but we have no choice. We'll bring them in, and then we can work on who really committed this crime. Maybe we'll know more when Nick is done with Ms. Callaghan here. Has Warrick told you of what we've found so far?"

Greg nodded. "Yeah, Sofia and I just stopped at the camera guys houses to gather the video stuff for him. It's odd", Greg stated, thinking back on his visit, "One of them, the oldest, had been to the hospital with a broken thumb."

"How'd he get that?" Sara asked interestedly.

"He said that when he was at the last wedding, of one Timothy and Angela Fuster, the tripod he was using came down right onto his finger. I don't buy it." Greg added, and Sara looked at him.

"Why's that Greg? What's so odd about that? Tripod's do come down on peoples fingers."

Greg stayed silent, deep in thought, but in an instant he clamped onto Sara's hand and raced down the hall with her on tow. He stopped in the break room, with a panting Sara next to him. "Greg, you fool! What are you up to?"

Greg had a huge smile plastering his face, and he started talking. "Sara, I think I have it! Let's start from the beginning. The victim's were drugged, and the wives raped, and we know it's by someone that was at the wedding. Well, I think that the key has been in front of us all along!"

Sara still didn't have a clue what he was trying to say. "I don't know…continue, what do you mean?"

"Well, the wives were raped, and _videotaped!!! _You know, camera's, video's…it all seems so obvious now!"

Sara furrowed her eyebrows. "Greg, you know how many creeps like to videotape their sex excursions? This isn't beyond a lot of people. That's only a hypothesis."

Greg sighed. "Sara! Give me a little more credit than that. There's more. On the video of the Weavers' wedding, the bride and maid of honour were looking really oddly in the direction of the camera, right? Well, maybe they weren't looking past the camera, but AT it! At the cameraman! When I first spoke to the caterers, the manager said that they were…" Greg flipped open his notebook suavely, "lewd, coarse people. Don't you see? They may be the ones!"

Sara now saw his point. "Greg, that's it! Nick stated that the husband reported one of the men crying out in pain…it was the camera guy. The manager of the small business, his name is…Tristan Yorkly, and you said he had a broken thumb from a tripod?" Greg nodded. "Well, he must be the guy who cried out in pain, and dropped the camera! That's why we found metal from a Kodak camera in the room…" Sara stooped for a second, and Greg started.

"The fingernail I found. It must belong to Tristan Yorkly. If we can match his DNA, then we can also link him to the crime, in the master bedroom, and when we do that, we can look for the videos. This is great!"

Sara nodded excitedly, thinking of what she had promised herself and Nick if they had solved this case. "Okay, this is great…it seems sound. Now all we need to do is prove it."

Greg stopped short. "Uh, yeah, okay, where will we start?"

At that moment, Nick walked in, with Brass behind him. "Hey, what's the cause for all the excitement?" Nick asked looked at Sara and Greg's faces, which were beaming. They told him of their theory, and thinking it over logically, agreed that it was sound. "Well then, we need to gather DNA from the camera crew, and the caterers too, just to be safe. Remember, proper procedure. They can be our main suspects, but we need to keep an open mind. I just gathered Penny Callaghan's DNA, for protocol, and I also got this information." He flipped his notebook open in the same fashion as Greg had, and began to read aloud. "Apparently, she's been in this business for sixteen years. She has her main lifelines for caterers, music crews, and camera guys. These caterers have been serving her weddings for her for about six years…that's a long time to serve someone and then suddenly turn crooked, right? The caterers haven't hired anyone new in a while either. The music crew is new, but they don't do weddings often. They only agreed to do this one because Penny's usual music crew was not able to play that day. The camera crew? Completely new. No background on them up 'til now, but here's something interesting. Seems they only do weddings that the catering crew is on…only this catering crew. Maybe they're using them as an alibi, something for the blame to fall on."

"That's why the food seemed so fake in places", Sara commented. "The camera crew were using it to frame the catering crew."

"Okay then", Brass said, "Then what we need to bring this together is DNA. Who's coming with me?"

"I'll go", Greg offered before anyone else could. "I want to get the last break on these guys myself."

Sara and Nick looked at each other, Sara nodding and confirming that this was what she had meant. "Are you sure, Greggo?" Nick asked. "I mean, you just got back from there with Sofia."

"I'm positive, Nick." Greg said walking out after Brass. "I'll be back in a short while. You guys, start gathering up all we have against these guys, and prepare to analyse the DNA we bring back, okay?" Nick nodded, but when Greg caught Sara's eye, he stopped and said, "Sar, don't worry. I'll be back in a small while."

With that, he left, and Sara and Nick were left alone. "Come on Sara, let's do as he asked us, and tell Warrick to help us. Sara?" Nick enquired to Sara, who had not answered back, or for that matter, done anything since Greg had told her he would be all right.

"Nick, what happens if he won't be back?"

Nick tsked at her and wrapped his arm about her shoulder, both facing out the door. "Sara, worry yourself . Greg will be fine, he has Brass with him…he's not alone like he was the night he got attacked. Besides, what makes you say that now?"

Sara crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't know, I'm just worried for some reason. I'm kind of…regretting…that I didn't ask him out then and there. I know Greg is tearing himself up over something now, you saw it too. I need to know that he's going to be okay."

"He will, but he'll be even better when he knows that we did what he asked. Now come on, if you do work, you'll get your mind off of him."

Sara nodded and smiled. "You're right, Nicky. Thank you." And so, they headed off towards the lab, preparing for Greg's return.

Greg knocked on the door that only a day prior had been knocked on by Sara. The same young man, Joseph, answered the door with a tired look. "Hello", was his thick reply.

"Mr. Joseph Yorkly? Hi, I'm Jim Brass, from the LVPD, and this is Greg Sanders, from the Crime Lab, I would like to come in and ask you a few questions. Is your brother home?"

"Yes, he is, but…" Joseph looked shiftily about the house. "Weren't you here yesterday?" He asked, eyebrow raised.

"Yes, but we need to ask a few more questions. It will only take a few minutes", Greg encouraged.

"Either that, or you and you brother can take a trip down to the station, and we'll look about your house anyways. You see, we have a warrant to search your house", Brass offered an alternate, yet more unpleasant way of doing things. Joseph invited them in hastily after that. When in the house, Brass followed Joseph about, looking for his brother, while Greg walked about the house. Pictures lined the wall, some of nature, and of beautiful scenery, others more provocative, more serious adult works, that were hidden in the deeper halls of the house. Unknowingly, Greg took the same route Sara had taken, and he found himself in a small office, where tapes were stored under some papers. Greg flicked on a pair of gloves, and picked them up, bagging them. Then, he saw a large bag stuffed in the corner. Greg picked it up, and inside was a container of face paint. Greg carefully bagged this too. In his mind, Greg now knew that he had the guy on the make-up and the soon to be collected DNA alone, but still he meandered on, this time walking down a flight of stairs into a basement-turned-darkroom.

Greg took out his flashlight, and started flicking about the bright white beam, searching for something, anything, that would without a shadow of a doubt put these men behind bars. He finished the flight of steps, and slowly, cast the light about in a semi-circle, scanning the room over. There were a few tubs that held the liquid for developing pictures, and lines were hung about everywhere for hanging the pictures to dry. On the far table, were cases and cases of film ready to be put through the developing stage, and the cameras were placed next to them. Greg walked over purposefully to the table with the cameras. He whisked his eyes over the cameras until he came up to one that was missing a small piece off of its corner. Next, he took out his small bottle of Luminol, and dripped a drop of its contents onto a small cotton stick. Next, he swabbed the camera all over, and with another drop, it lit up with a bright blue. There was blood on this camera. Greg smiled as he bagged the camera. He started walking over to where the tripods lay, when he felt a sharp jab between his upper shoulder blades.

With a grunt, Greg fell down with the force, dropping the camera, allowing it to slide under a table out of harms way. Greg, lightning quick, flipped over onto his now throbbing back, where he saw someone's foot coming down hard onto his chest, knocking the wind out of him. He saw in the darkness a darker shadow coming towards his face, but Greg was young and fit, and with a twist of his wrists on the attackers foot, and a lunge, he was now on top of the situation.

Greg called out as loud as he could to Brass, to anyone, for help, but he was soon flipped off again, and run into one of the walls, where he took a hard hit to the head, and was stunned. Then, he felt his face hit cold as he was forced into the developing fluid. Greg could feel his tongue taste the foul liquid, stealing his fast dwindling air even more, but he mustered his strength and after almost half a minute of struggle, he managed to finally use his arms to push himself off the tub and ram the back of the man into the wall, in turn knocking the wind out of him. The man fell, but Greg remained standing, knowing if he fell to the ground now he would get caught again. Relief poured over him when Brass and back-up rushed down the stairs, and with guns poised and flashlights pointed, apprehended the man, who was indeed Tristan Yorkly, his thumb in a more worse shape than ever after his struggle with Greg. Greg was certain that after he collected the camera, which was still under the table, and the tripod that squashed Tristan's thumb, which would hopefully contain victim DNA as well, Greg would have finally ended the horror that was the wedding crasher crisis, and get on to more important things that was on his mind.

Mere moments later, when everything was collected, and the two brothers were headed to interrogation along with their two associates that were being located simultaneously, Brass approached Greg, who had slumped himself down against the house wall, waiting to be brought back to the lab. "Good job back there, Sanders. You handled yourself well back there. Are you sure you're all right?"

Greg nodded, but his mouth burned with the acrid tasting and smelling liquid he nearly drowned in, and he was uncomfortable with his wet hair and clothes. He definitely needed a shower, and lots of mouthwash. "Sure, I'm fine. I just want to get back to the lab." Brass nodded, and offered a hand to Greg to get up, which was gratefully accepted. "You know, I phoned the lab and told them about the attack on you."

Greg groaned. Just great. "What did you tell them, and what did they say?"

"Well, I only told them that Tristan Yorkly saw you getting too close to pinning all this on them, so he attacked you, and nearly had you drowned, but that you came back and won and defended yourself."

Greg grinned at hearing this. "Wow, Brass, that was very flattering account of that, I appreciate it."

Brass chuckled. "Well, I wouldn't have told them you held your own if Sara hadn't been so worked up. I swear she was really…"

Greg looked up anxious and alarmed. "Oh no, Sara! I told her I as going to be careful and okay…" Greg groaned louder than before. "She's going to kill me for not watching my back."

Brass laughed out loud, and led Greg by the shoulder to his car. "Come on, Sanders, be a man and face up to her. I'm sure it won't be that bad."

**CHAPTER 10: CONFESSIONS ALL AROUND**

When Greg had gotten back from the camera crew's place, his stomach was in knots, thinking about how much Sara would yell at him when she saw him. How much she would reprimand him for his carelessness, how he should have been watching his back, and all the other things she was sure to come up with. He entered the lab, his hair still wet, and smelling of the acrid liquid that still invaded his taste, and was greeted by Warrick and Nick, who had heard also about his little incident and went there to see for themselves if he was okay, which he assured them he was, except for the awful taste in his mouth (and smell, they said to him, wrinkling their noses). They led him to the break room where they offered him a bit of their lunches and a small glass of juice to take the edge off the taste, and then sent him off to the locker room to get a shower.

Before he left, however, Greg needed to know. "Guys, where's Sara? I haven't seen her since I got back."

Nick and Warrick looked at each other. Warrick started. "Well, she's in the interrogation room now, with Sofia. She was really upset when she heard about you at the scene, and now it seems like she's on a personal vendetta against the perps."

"It's okay though." Nick assured Greg, who was thinking that Sara would do something irrational. "She guaranteed us both very much that she was going to do this by the book, for you." Greg smiled his enchanting smile, and Nick added, "You better get that shower now Greg, you'll need it for later on tonight." Greg looked at both Nick and Warrick, who were both trying to keep a fit of laughing under control, oddly, but passed it off. Maybe they knew his plans for tonight? Who knew? He shook his head as he headed for a very needed shower.

"Your DNA was in that room, Mr. Yorkly", Sara said, looking Tristan in the eye with a ferocity that no one wanted to see in Sara. "In fact, the DNA of your entire crew was found in and on the bodies of the young women who you raped!" Sara slammed the folder of the evidence on the table in front of him. "Everything points to you and your crew, Yorkly, so listen. The jigs up, no one can save you, so you may as well tell us about why you did it."

Tristan Yorkly looked at her with nothingness in his eye. He felt nothing. He felt no guilt, and Sara could see that. It chilled her to the bone, gave her goosebumps. She wanted nothing more than to find something, someone, and huddle close to them. Especially Greg. She hated this man for nearly making her life a living hell, for nearly causing Greg's life to stop, for him to stop breathing. The thought of her never being able to see his chest rise and fall in pure living motion sent her mind reeling. She looked into his face with sheer determination to find out why. "Answer me!!!"

The corners of Tristan's mouth turned into a malevolent smirk, and once again Sara's body was shaken with creepy cold shivers. "We're a small time business. We don't get much opportunity to get ahead in life. Then, we started working at weddings, and everything was fine, until we got into a rough patch. Our patrons were becoming cheaper, and in answer we met Penny, who says she needs a camera crew who works cheap. She called, we answered. So, we started working with this catering crew, and then we find that they get peeved about not getting enough of the green stuff. Well, we wanted to get revenge on the cheap bastards who always swindle us out of our rightly wages. And, well, the only way to combat our unhappiness was to take away theirs, and what better way than to ruin their wedding night? It was a perfect plan. The husbands watched and felt useless, the wives felt abused, betrayed, vulnerable, and we got a little action in the run of a day, along with our audio souvenir. We got payment that we deserved in other ways. Like I said. Perfect. And, to top it all off, we blame it all on the catering crew. Then that damn tripod burst…"

"Eh, we know the rest, you scum." Brass said, and he addressed Sara, telling her that she could go, and with a wink and a smile, she knew he also meant that she could go and search for Greg. Sara promptly got up and as she left, she could hear Brass read the man his rights. Sara walked out, and up the hall to the locker room, where she slumped down onto the benches that were placed along the middle. She placed her head in her hands distraughtly, worrying herself ragged that Greg wasn't okay, even though she knew that he had been able to hold his own against the man who was now being arrested for raping, murdering, and a host of other charges. She was repeatedly kicking herself for not going with him, not asking him out earlier, for being afraid. Nothing, she realized, was worth waiting anymore. She had realized it when Greg had been beaten up, but for the second time, now more than ever when she knew she liked him, she knew what she had to do. She raised herself from the bench, and ran to the exit of the locker room, looking for someone who knew where Greg was.

She turned the corner, only to collide with a person, and as she fell backwards, a strong arm reached behind her and caught her from falling. She closed her eyes on impact, and when she opened them again a second later, she was looking into the caring hazel eyes half hidden by dirty-blonde curls she had grown to love and look for.

"Sara, are you okay?" Greg asked as he placed his other arm around her to keep her steady, but he himself was knocked back when Sara threw her arms around his neck and gave him a very passionate kiss, pressing her lips against his. He steadied himself, and returned her passion, locking his arms behind her, keeping her close. She ended it, and shook with emotion as she leaned into his chest.

"Greg, you're okay…I'm so glad you're all right…I was…was…so scared". She hugged him tighter, and Greg was completely stunned. He had been hurt much worse when the group of kids attacked him, but she hadn't been so heart-rending to watch before. Now it seemed she could not keep her composure. Maybe she did not want to. He held her closer, rubbing one hand up and down her back trying to calm her. She finally pulled away, but she was not shamed. Greg brushed away one of the stray tears that had not made its journey down her cheek, and she smiled. Greg returned it with a bright grin, full of life, as it should be.

"Sara", he began slowly, but he was cut off.

"Greg, listen. I've been meaning to ask you a question for a long while now. Do you want to go out for dinner or something, after shift, before we go home? It's only in a half an hour."

Greg was stunned for the second time in less than five minutes, but nothing could keep back the grin that showed he was the luckiest guy in the world. "Oh, yeah, sure, that sounds great Sara. I'll meet you at your car then?"

Sara also smiled a huge smile, and nodded. They went their separate ways for the time being, and then met again ay her car a half-hour later, where they drove to the CSI's usual hangout, a small casual diner. There, Sara and Greg talked about everything under the sun, and even after Sara's emotional outbreak, everything seemed perfect. They had finished and paid for their meal, and were just talking, when Sara had remembered the whole purpose of asking Greg out.

"Greg?" She started, and Greg looked into her mocha eyes with interest.

"Mmmhmm?"

"Greg, I wanted to ask you something about this case…and about you…when working on this case, I found you were always in a daze, thinking of relationships, and your perfect marriage…it was odd…and I know there was a reason besides the case that you were thinking about it. What had you thinking about it?"

Greg blushed furiously and he looked down as he spoke, hoping Sara had not seen the red invade his face. "Umm…yeah, about that…umm, Sara?" Sara reached both of her hands over to his and held it tight, encouraging. "Actually, I was thinking of something, asking someone something. It was something I had not thought of in a while…but the case just brought it out. It actually had something to do with you."

Sara looked at him. "Had? Why is it in past tense, Mr. Sanders?" She looked at his face, which now rose to reveal the impish grin that she loved. "Greg, you were planning to ask me out?"

Greg nodded. "I just never had the guts. You were always too good for me, and I considered myself lucky just to be friends with you…and…"

Sara cut him off with a sweet touch of her finger to his lips. He relished even a simple bit of contact from her. "Greg, its odd, isn't it, that I thought the same thing? I had wanted to ask you out in the longest time too, but I felt like I could never be enough. When I heard you were attacked, I made up my mind that I would regret the rest of my life if I didn't try to make this more."

They both got up, and walked out of the diner hand in hand. When they had neared her car, Greg cupped her head in his hands, and whispered in her ear, "I want to be more if you want to be more." And he looked into her face before kissing her with all the built up emotion he had inside of him, all the time that he had waited for this moment. Sara, too, unleashed all she could into that one passionate kiss. A familiar vehicle drove by, and inside, Nick and Warrick watched with smiles on their faces as Sara and Greg finally did what everyone was waiting for. Nick looked to Warrick, and said, "This ought to make work more interesting." And they drove off, leaving Sara and Greg to lose themselves in each other.

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**Muahahaha...Okay, I'm a sucker for those endings...lol, remember, another story in the makings, so review or forever hold your peace...Feedback makes me happy inside:) **


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